NEWPORT, R.I. (August 3, 2019) – With an August 5 deadline for registration (to avoid a $100 late fee), entries are coming in at a rapid pace for the Ida Lewis Distance Race, scheduled for Friday, Aug. 16. The event organizers have just announced the rating bands that will apply for PHRF entrants and the resulting two new trophies that will be awarded.

“We have two PHRF divisions this year to separate the big boats from the smaller boats and allow for separate courses if needed,” said Event Chair Pat Kennedy. “That means two new trophies in the smaller-boat ‘Aloha’ Division for PHRF 55 and higher.”

The Lightkeeper Trophy will be newly awarded for Best Elapsed Time in the Aloha Division, while the Commodore Arthur Curtiss James Trophy will be newly awarded for Best Corrected Time in that division.

In the Coronet Division, for the larger boats of PHRF 54 and lower, the traditional awarding of the Lois J. Muessel Memorial Trophy for Best Elapsed Time will take place, while the Lime Rock Trophy for Best Corrected Time also makes a return.

Before the race, organizers look at the weather forecast to determine which of four courses to choose in order to get all teams back to the dock within 18-24 hours. The courses – “The Montauk”, “The Block Island”, “The Point Judith”, and “The Buzzards Bay Tower” – range from 112 to 169 nautical miles and in each case send the fleet from the start off Fort Adams State Park, past Castle Hill to Block Island and Long Island Sounds. As the names imply, the courses incorporate some of the most iconic cruising grounds in New England.